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<title>GNU gettext utilities: 9. Manipulating PO Files</title>

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<hr size="2">
<a name="Manipulating"></a>
<a name="SEC86"></a>
<h1 class="chapter"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC80">9. Manipulating PO Files</a> </h1>

<p>Sometimes it is necessary to manipulate PO files in a way that is better
performed automatically than by hand.  GNU <code>gettext</code> includes a
complete set of tools for this purpose.
</p>
<a name="IDX482"></a>
<p>When merging two packages into a single package, the resulting POT file
will be the concatenation of the two packages' POT files.  Thus the
maintainer must concatenate the two existing package translations into
a single translation catalog, for each language.  This is best performed
using &lsquo;<samp>msgcat</samp>&rsquo;.  It is then the translators' duty to deal with any
possible conflicts that arose during the merge.
</p>
<a name="IDX483"></a>
<p>When a translator takes over the translation job from another translator,
but she uses a different character encoding in her locale, she will
convert the catalog to her character encoding.  This is best done through
the &lsquo;<samp>msgconv</samp>&rsquo; program.
</p>
<p>When a maintainer takes a source file with tagged messages from another
package, he should also take the existing translations for this source
file (and not let the translators do the same job twice).  One way to do
this is through &lsquo;<samp>msggrep</samp>&rsquo;, another is to create a POT file for
that source file and use &lsquo;<samp>msgmerge</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<a name="IDX484"></a>
<a name="IDX485"></a>
<p>When a translator wants to adjust some translation catalog for a special
dialect or orthography &mdash; for example, German as written in Switzerland
versus German as written in Germany &mdash; she needs to apply some text
processing to every message in the catalog.  The tool for doing this is
&lsquo;<samp>msgfilter</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>Another use of <code>msgfilter</code> is to produce approximately the POT file for
which a given PO file was made.  This can be done through a filter command
like &lsquo;<samp>msgfilter sed -e d | sed -e '/^# /d'</samp>&rsquo;.  Note that the original
POT file may have had different comments and different plural message counts,
that's why it's better to use the original POT file if available.
</p>
<a name="IDX486"></a>
<p>When a translator wants to check her translations, for example according
to orthography rules or using a non-interactive spell checker, she can do
so using the &lsquo;<samp>msgexec</samp>&rsquo; program.
</p>
<a name="IDX487"></a>
<p>When third party tools create PO or POT files, sometimes duplicates cannot
be avoided.  But the GNU <code>gettext</code> tools give an error when they
encounter duplicate msgids in the same file and in the same domain.
To merge duplicates, the &lsquo;<samp>msguniq</samp>&rsquo; program can be used.
</p>
<p>&lsquo;<samp>msgcomm</samp>&rsquo; is a more general tool for keeping or throwing away
duplicates, occurring in different files.
</p>
<p>&lsquo;<samp>msgcmp</samp>&rsquo; can be used to check whether a translation catalog is
completely translated.
</p>
<a name="IDX488"></a>
<p>&lsquo;<samp>msgattrib</samp>&rsquo; can be used to select and extract only the fuzzy
or untranslated messages of a translation catalog.
</p>
<p>&lsquo;<samp>msgen</samp>&rsquo; is useful as a first step for preparing English translation
catalogs.  It copies each message's msgid to its msgstr.
</p>
<p>Finally, for those applications where all these various programs are not
sufficient, a library &lsquo;<samp>libgettextpo</samp>&rsquo; is provided that can be used to
write other specialized programs that process PO files.
</p>


<a name="msgcat-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC87"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC81">9.1 Invoking the <code>msgcat</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgcat [<var>option</var>] [<var>inputfile</var>]...
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX489"></a>
<a name="IDX490"></a>
<p>The <code>msgcat</code> program concatenates and merges the specified PO files.
It finds messages which are common to two or more of the specified PO files.
By using the <code>--more-than</code> option, greater commonality may be requested
before messages are printed.  Conversely, the <code>--less-than</code> option may be
used to specify less commonality before messages are printed (i.e.
&lsquo;<samp>--less-than=2</samp>&rsquo; will only print the unique messages).  Translations,
comments, extracted comments, and file positions will be cumulated, except that
if <code>--use-first</code> is specified, they will be taken from the first PO file
to define them.
</p>
<p>To concatenate POT files, better use <code>xgettext</code>, not <code>msgcat</code>,
because <code>msgcat</code> would choke on the undefined charsets in the specified
POT files.
</p>

<a name="SEC88"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC82">9.1.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp><var>inputfile</var> &hellip;</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Input files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-f <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--files-from=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX491"></a>
<a name="IDX492"></a>
<p>Read the names of the input files from <var>file</var> instead of getting
them from the command line.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX493"></a>
<a name="IDX494"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.  The resulting &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>If <var>inputfile</var> is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, standard input is read.
</p>

<a name="SEC89"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC83">9.1.2 Output file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-o <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--output-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX495"></a>
<a name="IDX496"></a>
<p>Write output to specified file.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<a name="IDX497"></a>
<p>The results are written to standard output if no output file is specified
or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<a name="SEC90"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC84">9.1.3 Message selection</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-&lt; <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--less-than=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX498"></a>
<a name="IDX499"></a>
<p>Print messages with less than <var>number</var> definitions, defaults to infinite
if not set.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-&gt; <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--more-than=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX500"></a>
<a name="IDX501"></a>
<p>Print messages with more than <var>number</var> definitions, defaults to 0 if not
set.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-u</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--unique</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX502"></a>
<a name="IDX503"></a>
<p>Shorthand for &lsquo;<samp>--less-than=2</samp>&rsquo;.  Requests that only unique messages be
printed.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC91"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC85">9.1.4 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX504"></a>
<a name="IDX505"></a>
<p>Assume the input files are Java ResourceBundles in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX506"></a>
<p>Assume the input files are NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource files in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC92"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC86">9.1.5 Output details</a> </h3>


<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-t</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--to-code=<var>name</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX507"></a>
<a name="IDX508"></a>
<p>Specify encoding for output.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--use-first</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX509"></a>
<p>Use first available translation for each message.  Don't merge several
translations into one.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--lang=<var>catalogname</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX510"></a>
<p>Specify the &lsquo;<samp>Language</samp>&rsquo; field to be used in the header entry.  See
<a href="gettext_6.html#SEC51">Filling in the Header Entry</a> for the meaning of this field.  Note: The
&lsquo;<samp>Language-Team</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp>Plural-Forms</samp>&rsquo; fields are left unchanged.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color=<var>when</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX511"></a>
<p>Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See <a href="#SEC157">The <code>--color</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--style=<var>style_file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX512"></a>
<p>Specify the CSS style rule file to use for <code>--color</code>.
See <a href="#SEC159">The <code>--style</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--force-po</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX513"></a>
<p>Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-i</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--indent</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX514"></a>
<a name="IDX515"></a>
<p>Write the .po file using indented style.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-location</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX516"></a>
<p>Do not write &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--add-location=<var>type</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX517"></a>
<a name="IDX518"></a>
<p>Generate &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines (default).
</p>
<p>The optional <var>type</var> can be either &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, or
&lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;.  If it is not given or &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, it generates the
lines with both file name and line number.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, the
line number part is omitted.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;, it completely
suppresses the lines (same as <code>--no-location</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--strict</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX519"></a>
<p>Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file.  Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesn't support the
GNU extensions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-p</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX520"></a>
<a name="IDX521"></a>
<p>Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code> syntax.  Note
that this file format doesn't support plural forms and silently drops
obsolete messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX522"></a>
<p>Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in <code>.strings</code> syntax.
Note that this file format doesn't support plural forms.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-w <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--width=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX523"></a>
<a name="IDX524"></a>
<p>Set the output page width.  Long strings in the output files will be
split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each line's width
(= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given <var>number</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-wrap</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX525"></a>
<p>Do not break long message lines.  Message lines whose width exceeds the
output page width will not be split into several lines.  Only file reference
lines which are wider than the output page width will be split.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-s</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX526"></a>
<a name="IDX527"></a>
<a name="IDX528"></a>
<p>Generate sorted output.  Note that using this option makes it much harder
for the translator to understand each message's context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-F</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-by-file</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX529"></a>
<a name="IDX530"></a>
<p>Sort output by file location.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC93"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC87">9.1.6 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX531"></a>
<a name="IDX532"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX533"></a>
<a name="IDX534"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="msgconv-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC94"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC88">9.2 Invoking the <code>msgconv</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgconv [<var>option</var>] [<var>inputfile</var>]
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX535"></a>
<p>The <code>msgconv</code> program converts a translation catalog to a different
character encoding.
</p>

<a name="SEC95"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC89">9.2.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp><var>inputfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Input PO file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX536"></a>
<a name="IDX537"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.  The resulting &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>If no <var>inputfile</var> is given or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, standard input is read.
</p>

<a name="SEC96"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC90">9.2.2 Output file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-o <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--output-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX538"></a>
<a name="IDX539"></a>
<p>Write output to specified file.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The results are written to standard output if no output file is specified
or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<a name="SEC97"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC91">9.2.3 Conversion target</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-t</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--to-code=<var>name</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX540"></a>
<a name="IDX541"></a>
<p>Specify encoding for output.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The default encoding is the current locale's encoding.
</p>

<a name="SEC98"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC92">9.2.4 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX542"></a>
<a name="IDX543"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX544"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC99"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC93">9.2.5 Output details</a> </h3>


<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color=<var>when</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX545"></a>
<p>Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See <a href="#SEC157">The <code>--color</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--style=<var>style_file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX546"></a>
<p>Specify the CSS style rule file to use for <code>--color</code>.
See <a href="#SEC159">The <code>--style</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--force-po</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX547"></a>
<p>Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-i</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--indent</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX548"></a>
<a name="IDX549"></a>
<p>Write the .po file using indented style.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-location</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX550"></a>
<p>Do not write &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--add-location=<var>type</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX551"></a>
<p>Generate &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines (default).
</p>
<p>The optional <var>type</var> can be either &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, or
&lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;.  If it is not given or &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, it generates the
lines with both file name and line number.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, the
line number part is omitted.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;, it completely
suppresses the lines (same as <code>--no-location</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--strict</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX552"></a>
<p>Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file.  Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesn't support the
GNU extensions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-p</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX553"></a>
<a name="IDX554"></a>
<p>Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code> syntax.  Note
that this file format doesn't support plural forms and silently drops
obsolete messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX555"></a>
<p>Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in <code>.strings</code> syntax.
Note that this file format doesn't support plural forms.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-w <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--width=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX556"></a>
<a name="IDX557"></a>
<p>Set the output page width.  Long strings in the output files will be
split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each line's width
(= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given <var>number</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-wrap</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX558"></a>
<p>Do not break long message lines.  Message lines whose width exceeds the
output page width will not be split into several lines.  Only file reference
lines which are wider than the output page width will be split.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-s</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX559"></a>
<a name="IDX560"></a>
<p>Generate sorted output.  Note that using this option makes it much harder
for the translator to understand each message's context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-F</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-by-file</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX561"></a>
<a name="IDX562"></a>
<p>Sort output by file location.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC100"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC94">9.2.6 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX563"></a>
<a name="IDX564"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX565"></a>
<a name="IDX566"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="msggrep-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC101"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC95">9.3 Invoking the <code>msggrep</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msggrep [<var>option</var>] [<var>inputfile</var>]
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX567"></a>
<p>The <code>msggrep</code> program extracts all messages of a translation catalog
that match a given pattern or belong to some given source files.
</p>

<a name="SEC102"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC96">9.3.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp><var>inputfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Input PO file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX568"></a>
<a name="IDX569"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.  The resulting &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>If no <var>inputfile</var> is given or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, standard input is read.
</p>

<a name="SEC103"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC97">9.3.2 Output file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-o <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--output-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX570"></a>
<a name="IDX571"></a>
<p>Write output to specified file.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The results are written to standard output if no output file is specified
or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<a name="SEC104"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC98">9.3.3 Message selection</a> </h3>

<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">  [-N <var>sourcefile</var>]... [-M <var>domainname</var>]...
  [-J <var>msgctxt-pattern</var>] [-K <var>msgid-pattern</var>] [-T <var>msgstr-pattern</var>]
  [-C <var>comment-pattern</var>]
</pre></td></tr></table>

<p>A message is selected if
</p><ul>
<li> it comes from one of the specified source files,
</li><li> or if it comes from one of the specified domains,
</li><li> or if &lsquo;<samp>-J</samp>&rsquo; is given and its context (msgctxt) matches
<var>msgctxt-pattern</var>,
</li><li> or if &lsquo;<samp>-K</samp>&rsquo; is given and its key (msgid or msgid_plural) matches
<var>msgid-pattern</var>,
</li><li> or if &lsquo;<samp>-T</samp>&rsquo; is given and its translation (msgstr) matches
<var>msgstr-pattern</var>,
</li><li> or if &lsquo;<samp>-C</samp>&rsquo; is given and the translator's comment matches
<var>comment-pattern</var>.
</li></ul>

<p>When more than one selection criterion is specified, the set of selected
messages is the union of the selected messages of each criterion.
</p>
<p><var>msgctxt-pattern</var> or <var>msgid-pattern</var> or <var>msgstr-pattern</var> syntax:
</p><table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">  [-E | -F] [-e <var>pattern</var> | -f <var>file</var>]...
</pre></td></tr></table>
<p><var>pattern</var>s are basic regular expressions by default, or extended regular
expressions if -E is given, or fixed strings if -F is given.
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-N <var>sourcefile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--location=<var>sourcefile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX572"></a>
<a name="IDX573"></a>
<p>Select messages extracted from <var>sourcefile</var>.  <var>sourcefile</var> can be
either a literal file name or a wildcard pattern.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-M <var>domainname</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--domain=<var>domainname</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX574"></a>
<a name="IDX575"></a>
<p>Select messages belonging to domain <var>domainname</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-J</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--msgctxt</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX576"></a>
<a name="IDX577"></a>
<p>Start of patterns for the msgctxt.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-K</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--msgid</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX578"></a>
<a name="IDX579"></a>
<p>Start of patterns for the msgid.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-T</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--msgstr</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX580"></a>
<a name="IDX581"></a>
<p>Start of patterns for the msgstr.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-C</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--comment</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX582"></a>
<a name="IDX583"></a>
<p>Start of patterns for the translator's comment.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-X</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--extracted-comment</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX584"></a>
<a name="IDX585"></a>
<p>Start of patterns for the extracted comments.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-E</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--extended-regexp</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX586"></a>
<a name="IDX587"></a>
<p>Specify that <var>pattern</var> is an extended regular expression.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-F</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--fixed-strings</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX588"></a>
<a name="IDX589"></a>
<p>Specify that <var>pattern</var> is a set of newline-separated strings.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-e <var>pattern</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--regexp=<var>pattern</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX590"></a>
<a name="IDX591"></a>
<p>Use <var>pattern</var> as a regular expression.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-f <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX592"></a>
<a name="IDX593"></a>
<p>Obtain <var>pattern</var> from <var>file</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-i</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--ignore-case</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX594"></a>
<a name="IDX595"></a>
<p>Ignore case distinctions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-v</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--invert-match</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX596"></a>
<a name="IDX597"></a>
<p>Output only the messages that do not match any selection criterion, instead
of the messages that match a selection criterion.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC105"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC99">9.3.4 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX598"></a>
<a name="IDX599"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX600"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC106"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC100">9.3.5 Output details</a> </h3>


<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color=<var>when</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX601"></a>
<p>Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See <a href="#SEC157">The <code>--color</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--style=<var>style_file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX602"></a>
<p>Specify the CSS style rule file to use for <code>--color</code>.
See <a href="#SEC159">The <code>--style</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--force-po</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX603"></a>
<p>Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--indent</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX604"></a>
<p>Write the .po file using indented style.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-location</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX605"></a>
<p>Do not write &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--add-location=<var>type</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX606"></a>
<p>Generate &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines (default).
</p>
<p>The optional <var>type</var> can be either &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, or
&lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;.  If it is not given or &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, it generates the
lines with both file name and line number.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, the
line number part is omitted.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;, it completely
suppresses the lines (same as <code>--no-location</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--strict</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX607"></a>
<p>Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file.  Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesn't support the
GNU extensions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-p</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX608"></a>
<a name="IDX609"></a>
<p>Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code> syntax.  Note
that this file format doesn't support plural forms and silently drops
obsolete messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX610"></a>
<p>Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in <code>.strings</code> syntax.
Note that this file format doesn't support plural forms.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-w <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--width=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX611"></a>
<a name="IDX612"></a>
<p>Set the output page width.  Long strings in the output files will be
split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each line's width
(= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given <var>number</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-wrap</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX613"></a>
<p>Do not break long message lines.  Message lines whose width exceeds the
output page width will not be split into several lines.  Only file reference
lines which are wider than the output page width will be split.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX614"></a>
<p>Generate sorted output.  Note that using this option makes it much harder
for the translator to understand each message's context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-by-file</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX615"></a>
<p>Sort output by file location.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC107"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC101">9.3.6 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX616"></a>
<a name="IDX617"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX618"></a>
<a name="IDX619"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC108"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC102">9.3.7 Examples</a> </h3>

<p>To extract the messages that come from the source files
<code>gnulib-lib/error.c</code> and <code>gnulib-lib/getopt.c</code>:
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">msggrep -N gnulib-lib/error.c -N gnulib-lib/getopt.c input.po
</pre></td></tr></table>

<p>To extract the messages that contain the string &ldquo;Please specify&rdquo; in the
original string:
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">msggrep --msgid -F -e 'Please specify' input.po
</pre></td></tr></table>

<p>To extract the messages that have a context specifier of either &ldquo;Menu&gt;File&rdquo;
or &ldquo;Menu&gt;Edit&rdquo; or a submenu of them:
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">msggrep --msgctxt -E -e '^Menu&gt;(File|Edit)' input.po
</pre></td></tr></table>

<p>To extract the messages whose translation contains one of the strings in the
file <code>wordlist.txt</code>:
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">msggrep --msgstr -F -f wordlist.txt input.po
</pre></td></tr></table>


<a name="msgfilter-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC109"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC103">9.4 Invoking the <code>msgfilter</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgfilter [<var>option</var>] <var>filter</var> [<var>filter-option</var>]
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX620"></a>
<p>The <code>msgfilter</code> program applies a filter to all translations of a
translation catalog.
</p>
<a name="IDX621"></a>
<a name="IDX622"></a>
<a name="IDX623"></a>
<a name="IDX624"></a>
<a name="IDX625"></a>
<a name="IDX626"></a>
<a name="IDX627"></a>
<a name="IDX628"></a>
<p>During each <var>filter</var> invocation, the environment variable
<code>MSGFILTER_MSGID</code> is bound to the message's msgid, and the environment
variable <code>MSGFILTER_LOCATION</code> is bound to the location in the PO file
of the message.  If the message has a context, the environment variable
<code>MSGFILTER_MSGCTXT</code> is bound to the message's msgctxt, otherwise it is
unbound.  If the message has a plural form, environment variable
<code>MSGFILTER_MSGID_PLURAL</code> is bound to the message's msgid_plural and
<code>MSGFILTER_PLURAL_FORM</code> is bound to the order number of the plural
actually processed (starting with 0), otherwise both are unbound.
If the message has a previous msgid (added by <code>msgmerge</code>),
environment variable <code>MSGFILTER_PREV_MSGCTXT</code> is bound to the
message's previous msgctxt, <code>MSGFILTER_PREV_MSGID</code> is bound to
the previous msgid, and <code>MSGFILTER_PREV_MSGID_PLURAL</code> is bound to
the previous msgid_plural.
</p>

<a name="SEC110"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC104">9.4.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-i <var>inputfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--input=<var>inputfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX629"></a>
<a name="IDX630"></a>
<p>Input PO file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX631"></a>
<a name="IDX632"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.  The resulting &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>If no <var>inputfile</var> is given or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, standard input is read.
</p>

<a name="SEC111"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC105">9.4.2 Output file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-o <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--output-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX633"></a>
<a name="IDX634"></a>
<p>Write output to specified file.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The results are written to standard output if no output file is specified
or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<a name="SEC112"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC106">9.4.3 The filter</a> </h3>

<p>The <var>filter</var> can be any program that reads a translation from standard
input and writes a modified translation to standard output.  A frequently
used filter is &lsquo;<samp>sed</samp>&rsquo;.  A few particular built-in filters are also
recognized.
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--newline</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX635"></a>
<p>Add newline at the end of each input line and also strip the ending
newline from the output line.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<a name="IDX636"></a>
<p>Note: If the filter is not a built-in filter, you have to care about encodings:
It is your responsibility to ensure that the <var>filter</var> can cope
with input encoded in the translation catalog's encoding.  If the
<var>filter</var> wants input in a particular encoding, you can in a first step
convert the translation catalog to that encoding using the &lsquo;<samp>msgconv</samp>&rsquo;
program, before invoking &lsquo;<samp>msgfilter</samp>&rsquo;.  If the <var>filter</var> wants input
in the locale's encoding, but you want to avoid the locale's encoding, then
you can first convert the translation catalog to UTF-8 using the
&lsquo;<samp>msgconv</samp>&rsquo; program and then make &lsquo;<samp>msgfilter</samp>&rsquo; work in an UTF-8
locale, by using the <code>LC_ALL</code> environment variable.
</p>
<a name="IDX637"></a>
<p>Note: Most translations in a translation catalog don't end with a
newline character.  For this reason, unless the <code>--newline</code>
option is used, it is important that the <var>filter</var> recognizes its
last input line even if it ends without a newline, and that it doesn't
add an undesired trailing newline at the end.  The &lsquo;<samp>sed</samp>&rsquo; program on
some platforms is known to ignore the last line of input if it is not
terminated with a newline.  You can use GNU <code>sed</code> instead; it does
not have this limitation.
</p>

<a name="SEC113"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC107">9.4.4 Useful <var>filter-option</var>s when the <var>filter</var> is &lsquo;<samp>sed</samp>&rsquo;</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-e <var>script</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--expression=<var>script</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX638"></a>
<a name="IDX639"></a>
<p>Add <var>script</var> to the commands to be executed.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-f <var>scriptfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--file=<var>scriptfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX640"></a>
<a name="IDX641"></a>
<p>Add the contents of <var>scriptfile</var> to the commands to be executed.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--quiet</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--silent</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX642"></a>
<a name="IDX643"></a>
<a name="IDX644"></a>
<p>Suppress automatic printing of pattern space.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC114"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC108">9.4.5 Built-in <var>filter</var>s</a> </h3>

<p>The filter &lsquo;<samp>recode-sr-latin</samp>&rsquo; is recognized as a built-in filter.
The command &lsquo;<samp>recode-sr-latin</samp>&rsquo; converts Serbian text, written in the
Cyrillic script, to the Latin script.
The command &lsquo;<samp>msgfilter recode-sr-latin</samp>&rsquo; applies this conversion to the
translations of a PO file.  Thus, it can be used to convert an &lsquo;<tt>sr.po</tt>&rsquo;
file to an &lsquo;<tt>sr@latin.po</tt>&rsquo; file.
</p>
<a name="IDX645"></a>
<p>The filter &lsquo;<samp>quot</samp>&rsquo; is recognized as a built-in filter.
The command &lsquo;<samp>msgfilter quot</samp>&rsquo; converts any quotations surrounded
by a pair of &lsquo;<samp>&quot;</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>'</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp>`</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<a name="IDX646"></a>
<p>The filter &lsquo;<samp>boldquot</samp>&rsquo; is recognized as a built-in filter.
The command &lsquo;<samp>msgfilter boldquot</samp>&rsquo; converts any quotations
surrounded by a pair of &lsquo;<samp>&quot;</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>'</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp>`</samp>&rsquo;, also adding the
VT100 escape sequences to the text to decorate it as bold.
</p>
<p>The use of built-in filters is not sensitive to the current locale's encoding.
Moreover, when used with a built-in filter, &lsquo;<samp>msgfilter</samp>&rsquo; can automatically
convert the message catalog to the UTF-8 encoding when needed.
</p>

<a name="SEC115"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC109">9.4.6 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX647"></a>
<a name="IDX648"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX649"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC116"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC110">9.4.7 Output details</a> </h3>


<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color=<var>when</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX650"></a>
<p>Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See <a href="#SEC157">The <code>--color</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--style=<var>style_file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX651"></a>
<p>Specify the CSS style rule file to use for <code>--color</code>.
See <a href="#SEC159">The <code>--style</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--force-po</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX652"></a>
<p>Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--indent</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX653"></a>
<p>Write the .po file using indented style.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--keep-header</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX654"></a>
<p>Keep the header entry, i.e. the message with &lsquo;<samp>msgid &quot;&quot;</samp>&rsquo;, unmodified,
instead of filtering it.  By default, the header entry is subject to
filtering like any other message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-location</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX655"></a>
<p>Do not write &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--add-location=<var>type</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX656"></a>
<p>Generate &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines (default).
</p>
<p>The optional <var>type</var> can be either &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, or
&lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;.  If it is not given or &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, it generates the
lines with both file name and line number.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, the
line number part is omitted.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;, it completely
suppresses the lines (same as <code>--no-location</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--strict</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX657"></a>
<p>Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file.  Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesn't support the
GNU extensions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-p</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX658"></a>
<a name="IDX659"></a>
<p>Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code> syntax.  Note
that this file format doesn't support plural forms and silently drops
obsolete messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX660"></a>
<p>Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in <code>.strings</code> syntax.
Note that this file format doesn't support plural forms.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-w <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--width=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX661"></a>
<a name="IDX662"></a>
<p>Set the output page width.  Long strings in the output files will be
split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each line's width
(= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given <var>number</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-wrap</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX663"></a>
<p>Do not break long message lines.  Message lines whose width exceeds the
output page width will not be split into several lines.  Only file reference
lines which are wider than the output page width will be split.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-s</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX664"></a>
<a name="IDX665"></a>
<p>Generate sorted output.  Note that using this option makes it much harder
for the translator to understand each message's context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-F</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-by-file</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX666"></a>
<a name="IDX667"></a>
<p>Sort output by file location.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC117"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC111">9.4.8 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX668"></a>
<a name="IDX669"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX670"></a>
<a name="IDX671"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC118"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC112">9.4.9 Examples</a> </h3>

<p>To convert German translations to Swiss orthography (in an UTF-8 locale):
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">msgconv -t UTF-8 de.po | msgfilter sed -e 's/&szlig;/ss/g'
</pre></td></tr></table>

<p>To convert Serbian translations in Cyrillic script to Latin script:
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">msgfilter recode-sr-latin &lt; sr.po
</pre></td></tr></table>


<a name="msguniq-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC119"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC113">9.5 Invoking the <code>msguniq</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msguniq [<var>option</var>] [<var>inputfile</var>]
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX672"></a>
<a name="IDX673"></a>
<p>The <code>msguniq</code> program unifies duplicate translations in a translation
catalog.  It finds duplicate translations of the same message ID.  Such
duplicates are invalid input for other programs like <code>msgfmt</code>,
<code>msgmerge</code> or <code>msgcat</code>.  By default, duplicates are merged
together.  When using the &lsquo;<samp>--repeated</samp>&rsquo; option, only duplicates are
output, and all other messages are discarded.  Comments and extracted
comments will be cumulated, except that if &lsquo;<samp>--use-first</samp>&rsquo; is
specified, they will be taken from the first translation.  File positions
will be cumulated.  When using the &lsquo;<samp>--unique</samp>&rsquo; option, duplicates are
discarded.
</p>

<a name="SEC120"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC114">9.5.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp><var>inputfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Input PO file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX674"></a>
<a name="IDX675"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.  The resulting &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>If no <var>inputfile</var> is given or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, standard input is read.
</p>

<a name="SEC121"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC115">9.5.2 Output file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-o <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--output-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX676"></a>
<a name="IDX677"></a>
<p>Write output to specified file.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The results are written to standard output if no output file is specified
or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<a name="SEC122"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC116">9.5.3 Message selection</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-d</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--repeated</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX678"></a>
<a name="IDX679"></a>
<p>Print only duplicates.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-u</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--unique</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX680"></a>
<a name="IDX681"></a>
<p>Print only unique messages, discard duplicates.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC123"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC117">9.5.4 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX682"></a>
<a name="IDX683"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX684"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC124"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC118">9.5.5 Output details</a> </h3>


<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-t</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--to-code=<var>name</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX685"></a>
<a name="IDX686"></a>
<p>Specify encoding for output.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--use-first</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX687"></a>
<p>Use first available translation for each message.  Don't merge several
translations into one.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color=<var>when</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX688"></a>
<p>Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See <a href="#SEC157">The <code>--color</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--style=<var>style_file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX689"></a>
<p>Specify the CSS style rule file to use for <code>--color</code>.
See <a href="#SEC159">The <code>--style</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--force-po</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX690"></a>
<p>Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-i</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--indent</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX691"></a>
<a name="IDX692"></a>
<p>Write the .po file using indented style.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-location</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX693"></a>
<p>Do not write &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--add-location=<var>type</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX694"></a>
<a name="IDX695"></a>
<p>Generate &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines (default).
</p>
<p>The optional <var>type</var> can be either &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, or
&lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;.  If it is not given or &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, it generates the
lines with both file name and line number.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, the
line number part is omitted.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;, it completely
suppresses the lines (same as <code>--no-location</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--strict</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX696"></a>
<p>Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file.  Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesn't support the
GNU extensions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-p</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX697"></a>
<a name="IDX698"></a>
<p>Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code> syntax.  Note
that this file format doesn't support plural forms and silently drops
obsolete messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX699"></a>
<p>Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in <code>.strings</code> syntax.
Note that this file format doesn't support plural forms.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-w <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--width=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX700"></a>
<a name="IDX701"></a>
<p>Set the output page width.  Long strings in the output files will be
split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each line's width
(= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given <var>number</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-wrap</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX702"></a>
<p>Do not break long message lines.  Message lines whose width exceeds the
output page width will not be split into several lines.  Only file reference
lines which are wider than the output page width will be split.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-s</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX703"></a>
<a name="IDX704"></a>
<p>Generate sorted output.  Note that using this option makes it much harder
for the translator to understand each message's context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-F</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-by-file</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX705"></a>
<a name="IDX706"></a>
<p>Sort output by file location.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC125"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC119">9.5.6 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX707"></a>
<a name="IDX708"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX709"></a>
<a name="IDX710"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="msgcomm-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC126"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC120">9.6 Invoking the <code>msgcomm</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgcomm [<var>option</var>] [<var>inputfile</var>]...
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX711"></a>
<p>The <code>msgcomm</code> program finds messages which are common to two or more
of the specified PO files.
By using the <code>--more-than</code> option, greater commonality may be requested
before messages are printed.  Conversely, the <code>--less-than</code> option may be
used to specify less commonality before messages are printed (i.e.
&lsquo;<samp>--less-than=2</samp>&rsquo; will only print the unique messages).  Translations,
comments and extracted comments will be preserved, but only from the first
PO file to define them.  File positions from all PO files will be
cumulated.
</p>

<a name="SEC127"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC121">9.6.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp><var>inputfile</var> &hellip;</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Input files.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-f <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--files-from=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX712"></a>
<a name="IDX713"></a>
<p>Read the names of the input files from <var>file</var> instead of getting
them from the command line.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX714"></a>
<a name="IDX715"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.  The resulting &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>If <var>inputfile</var> is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, standard input is read.
</p>

<a name="SEC128"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC122">9.6.2 Output file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-o <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--output-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX716"></a>
<a name="IDX717"></a>
<p>Write output to specified file.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The results are written to standard output if no output file is specified
or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<a name="SEC129"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC123">9.6.3 Message selection</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-&lt; <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--less-than=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX718"></a>
<a name="IDX719"></a>
<p>Print messages with less than <var>number</var> definitions, defaults to infinite
if not set.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-&gt; <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--more-than=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX720"></a>
<a name="IDX721"></a>
<p>Print messages with more than <var>number</var> definitions, defaults to 1 if not
set.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-u</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--unique</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX722"></a>
<a name="IDX723"></a>
<p>Shorthand for &lsquo;<samp>--less-than=2</samp>&rsquo;.  Requests that only unique messages be
printed.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC130"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC124">9.6.4 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX724"></a>
<a name="IDX725"></a>
<p>Assume the input files are Java ResourceBundles in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX726"></a>
<p>Assume the input files are NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource files in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC131"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC125">9.6.5 Output details</a> </h3>


<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color=<var>when</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX727"></a>
<p>Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See <a href="#SEC157">The <code>--color</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--style=<var>style_file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX728"></a>
<p>Specify the CSS style rule file to use for <code>--color</code>.
See <a href="#SEC159">The <code>--style</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--force-po</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX729"></a>
<p>Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-i</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--indent</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX730"></a>
<a name="IDX731"></a>
<p>Write the .po file using indented style.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-location</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX732"></a>
<p>Do not write &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--add-location=<var>type</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX733"></a>
<a name="IDX734"></a>
<p>Generate &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines (default).
</p>
<p>The optional <var>type</var> can be either &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, or
&lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;.  If it is not given or &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, it generates the
lines with both file name and line number.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, the
line number part is omitted.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;, it completely
suppresses the lines (same as <code>--no-location</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--strict</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX735"></a>
<p>Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file.  Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesn't support the
GNU extensions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-p</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX736"></a>
<a name="IDX737"></a>
<p>Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code> syntax.  Note
that this file format doesn't support plural forms and silently drops
obsolete messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX738"></a>
<p>Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in <code>.strings</code> syntax.
Note that this file format doesn't support plural forms.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-w <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--width=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX739"></a>
<a name="IDX740"></a>
<p>Set the output page width.  Long strings in the output files will be
split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each line's width
(= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given <var>number</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-wrap</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX741"></a>
<p>Do not break long message lines.  Message lines whose width exceeds the
output page width will not be split into several lines.  Only file reference
lines which are wider than the output page width will be split.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-s</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX742"></a>
<a name="IDX743"></a>
<p>Generate sorted output.  Note that using this option makes it much harder
for the translator to understand each message's context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-F</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-by-file</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX744"></a>
<a name="IDX745"></a>
<p>Sort output by file location.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--omit-header</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX746"></a>
<p>Don't write header with &lsquo;<samp>msgid &quot;&quot;</samp>&rsquo; entry.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC132"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC126">9.6.6 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX747"></a>
<a name="IDX748"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX749"></a>
<a name="IDX750"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="msgcmp-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC133"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC127">9.7 Invoking the <code>msgcmp</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgcmp [<var>option</var>] <var>def</var>.po <var>ref</var>.pot
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX751"></a>
<p>The <code>msgcmp</code> program compares two Uniforum style .po files to check that
both contain the same set of msgid strings.  The <var>def</var>.po file is an
existing PO file with the translations.  The <var>ref</var>.pot file is the last
created PO file, or a PO Template file (generally created by <code>xgettext</code>).
This is useful for checking that you have translated each and every message
in your program.  Where an exact match cannot be found, fuzzy matching is
used to produce better diagnostics.
</p>

<a name="SEC134"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC128">9.7.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp><var>def</var>.po</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Translations.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp><var>ref</var>.pot</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>References to the sources.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX752"></a>
<a name="IDX753"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC135"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC129">9.7.2 Operation modifiers</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-m</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--multi-domain</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX754"></a>
<a name="IDX755"></a>
<p>Apply <var>ref</var>.pot to each of the domains in <var>def</var>.po.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-N</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-fuzzy-matching</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX756"></a>
<a name="IDX757"></a>
<p>Do not use fuzzy matching when an exact match is not found.  This may speed
up the operation considerably.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--use-fuzzy</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX758"></a>
<p>Consider fuzzy messages in the <var>def</var>.po file like translated messages.
Note that using this option is usually wrong, because fuzzy messages are
exactly those which have not been validated by a human translator.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--use-untranslated</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX759"></a>
<p>Consider untranslated messages in the <var>def</var>.po file like translated
messages.  Note that using this option is usually wrong.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC136"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC130">9.7.3 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX760"></a>
<a name="IDX761"></a>
<p>Assume the input files are Java ResourceBundles in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX762"></a>
<p>Assume the input files are NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource files in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC137"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC131">9.7.4 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX763"></a>
<a name="IDX764"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX765"></a>
<a name="IDX766"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="msgattrib-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC138"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC132">9.8 Invoking the <code>msgattrib</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgattrib [<var>option</var>] [<var>inputfile</var>]
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX767"></a>
<a name="IDX768"></a>
<p>The <code>msgattrib</code> program filters the messages of a translation catalog
according to their attributes, and manipulates the attributes.
</p>

<a name="SEC139"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC133">9.8.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp><var>inputfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Input PO file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX769"></a>
<a name="IDX770"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.  The resulting &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>If no <var>inputfile</var> is given or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, standard input is read.
</p>

<a name="SEC140"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC134">9.8.2 Output file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-o <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--output-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX771"></a>
<a name="IDX772"></a>
<p>Write output to specified file.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The results are written to standard output if no output file is specified
or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<a name="SEC141"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC135">9.8.3 Message selection</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--translated</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX773"></a>
<p>Keep translated messages, remove untranslated messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--untranslated</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX774"></a>
<p>Keep untranslated messages, remove translated messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-fuzzy</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX775"></a>
<p>Remove
‘fuzzy’
marked messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--only-fuzzy</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX776"></a>
<p>Keep
‘fuzzy’
marked messages, remove all other messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-obsolete</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX777"></a>
<p>Remove obsolete #~ messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--only-obsolete</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX778"></a>
<p>Keep obsolete #~ messages, remove all other messages.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC142"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC136">9.8.4 Attribute manipulation</a> </h3>

<p>Attributes are modified after the message selection/removal has been
performed.  If the &lsquo;<samp>--only-file</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp>--ignore-file</samp>&rsquo; option is
specified, the attribute modification is applied only to those messages
that are listed in the <var>only-file</var> and not listed in the
<var>ignore-file</var>.
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--set-fuzzy</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX779"></a>
<p>Set all messages
‘fuzzy’.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--clear-fuzzy</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX780"></a>
<p>Set all messages
non-‘fuzzy’.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--set-obsolete</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX781"></a>
<p>Set all messages obsolete.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--clear-obsolete</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX782"></a>
<p>Set all messages non-obsolete.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--previous</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX783"></a>
<p>When setting
‘fuzzy’
mark, keep &ldquo;previous msgid&rdquo; of translated messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--clear-previous</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX784"></a>
<p>Remove the &ldquo;previous msgid&rdquo; (&lsquo;<samp>#|</samp>&rsquo;) comments from all messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--empty</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX785"></a>
<p>When removing
‘fuzzy’
mark, also set msgstr empty.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--only-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX786"></a>
<p>Limit the attribute changes to entries that are listed in <var>file</var>.
<var>file</var> should be a PO or POT file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--ignore-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX787"></a>
<p>Limit the attribute changes to entries that are not listed in <var>file</var>.
<var>file</var> should be a PO or POT file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--fuzzy</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX788"></a>
<p>Synonym for &lsquo;<samp>--only-fuzzy --clear-fuzzy</samp>&rsquo;: It keeps only the fuzzy
messages and removes their
‘fuzzy’
mark.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--obsolete</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX789"></a>
<p>Synonym for &lsquo;<samp>--only-obsolete --clear-obsolete</samp>&rsquo;: It keeps only the
obsolete messages and makes them non-obsolete.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC143"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC137">9.8.5 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX790"></a>
<a name="IDX791"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX792"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC144"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC138">9.8.6 Output details</a> </h3>


<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color=<var>when</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX793"></a>
<p>Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See <a href="#SEC157">The <code>--color</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--style=<var>style_file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX794"></a>
<p>Specify the CSS style rule file to use for <code>--color</code>.
See <a href="#SEC159">The <code>--style</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--force-po</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX795"></a>
<p>Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-i</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--indent</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX796"></a>
<a name="IDX797"></a>
<p>Write the .po file using indented style.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-location</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX798"></a>
<p>Do not write &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--add-location=<var>type</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX799"></a>
<a name="IDX800"></a>
<p>Generate &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines (default).
</p>
<p>The optional <var>type</var> can be either &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, or
&lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;.  If it is not given or &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, it generates the
lines with both file name and line number.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, the
line number part is omitted.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;, it completely
suppresses the lines (same as <code>--no-location</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--strict</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX801"></a>
<p>Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file.  Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesn't support the
GNU extensions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-p</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX802"></a>
<a name="IDX803"></a>
<p>Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code> syntax.  Note
that this file format doesn't support plural forms and silently drops
obsolete messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX804"></a>
<p>Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in <code>.strings</code> syntax.
Note that this file format doesn't support plural forms.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-w <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--width=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX805"></a>
<a name="IDX806"></a>
<p>Set the output page width.  Long strings in the output files will be
split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each line's width
(= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given <var>number</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-wrap</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX807"></a>
<p>Do not break long message lines.  Message lines whose width exceeds the
output page width will not be split into several lines.  Only file reference
lines which are wider than the output page width will be split.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-s</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX808"></a>
<a name="IDX809"></a>
<p>Generate sorted output.  Note that using this option makes it much harder
for the translator to understand each message's context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-F</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-by-file</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX810"></a>
<a name="IDX811"></a>
<p>Sort output by file location.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC145"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC139">9.8.7 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX812"></a>
<a name="IDX813"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX814"></a>
<a name="IDX815"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="msgen-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC146"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC140">9.9 Invoking the <code>msgen</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgen [<var>option</var>] <var>inputfile</var>
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX816"></a>
<p>The <code>msgen</code> program creates an English translation catalog.  The
input file is the last created English PO file, or a PO Template file
(generally created by xgettext).  Untranslated entries are assigned a
translation that is identical to the msgid.
</p>
<p>Note: &lsquo;<samp>msginit --no-translator --locale=en</samp>&rsquo; performs a very similar
task.  The main difference is that <code>msginit</code> cares specially about
the header entry, whereas <code>msgen</code> doesn't.
</p>

<a name="SEC147"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC141">9.9.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp><var>inputfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>Input PO or POT file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX817"></a>
<a name="IDX818"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.  The resulting &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>If <var>inputfile</var> is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, standard input is read.
</p>

<a name="SEC148"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC142">9.9.2 Output file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-o <var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--output-file=<var>file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX819"></a>
<a name="IDX820"></a>
<p>Write output to specified file.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>The results are written to standard output if no output file is specified
or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<a name="SEC149"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC143">9.9.3 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX821"></a>
<a name="IDX822"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX823"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC150"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC144">9.9.4 Output details</a> </h3>


<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--lang=<var>catalogname</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX824"></a>
<p>Specify the &lsquo;<samp>Language</samp>&rsquo; field to be used in the header entry.  See
<a href="gettext_6.html#SEC51">Filling in the Header Entry</a> for the meaning of this field.  Note: The
&lsquo;<samp>Language-Team</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp>Plural-Forms</samp>&rsquo; fields are not set by this
option.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--color=<var>when</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX825"></a>
<p>Specify whether or when to use colors and other text attributes.
See <a href="#SEC157">The <code>--color</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--style=<var>style_file</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX826"></a>
<p>Specify the CSS style rule file to use for <code>--color</code>.
See <a href="#SEC159">The <code>--style</code> option</a> for details.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--force-po</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX827"></a>
<p>Always write an output file even if it contains no message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-i</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--indent</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX828"></a>
<a name="IDX829"></a>
<p>Write the .po file using indented style.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-location</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX830"></a>
<p>Do not write &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-n</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--add-location=<var>type</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX831"></a>
<p>Generate &lsquo;<samp>#: <var>filename</var>:<var>line</var></samp>&rsquo; lines (default).
</p>
<p>The optional <var>type</var> can be either &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, or
&lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;.  If it is not given or &lsquo;<samp>full</samp>&rsquo;, it generates the
lines with both file name and line number.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>file</samp>&rsquo;, the
line number part is omitted.  If it is &lsquo;<samp>never</samp>&rsquo;, it completely
suppresses the lines (same as <code>--no-location</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--strict</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX832"></a>
<p>Write out a strict Uniforum conforming PO file.  Note that this
Uniforum format should be avoided because it doesn't support the
GNU extensions.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-p</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX833"></a>
<a name="IDX834"></a>
<p>Write out a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code> syntax.  Note
that this file format doesn't support plural forms and silently drops
obsolete messages.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX835"></a>
<p>Write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in <code>.strings</code> syntax.
Note that this file format doesn't support plural forms.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-w <var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--width=<var>number</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX836"></a>
<a name="IDX837"></a>
<p>Set the output page width.  Long strings in the output files will be
split across multiple lines in order to ensure that each line's width
(= number of screen columns) is less or equal to the given <var>number</var>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--no-wrap</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX838"></a>
<p>Do not break long message lines.  Message lines whose width exceeds the
output page width will not be split into several lines.  Only file reference
lines which are wider than the output page width will be split.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-s</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-output</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX839"></a>
<a name="IDX840"></a>
<p>Generate sorted output.  Note that using this option makes it much harder
for the translator to understand each message's context.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-F</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--sort-by-file</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX841"></a>
<a name="IDX842"></a>
<p>Sort output by file location.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC151"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC145">9.9.5 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX843"></a>
<a name="IDX844"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX845"></a>
<a name="IDX846"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="msgexec-Invocation"></a>
<a name="SEC152"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC146">9.10 Invoking the <code>msgexec</code> Program</a> </h2>


<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgexec [<var>option</var>] <var>command</var> [<var>command-option</var>]
</pre></td></tr></table>

<a name="IDX847"></a>
<p>The <code>msgexec</code> program applies a command to all translations of a
translation catalog.
The <var>command</var> can be any program that reads a translation from standard
input.  It is invoked once for each translation.  Its output becomes
msgexec's output.  <code>msgexec</code>'s return code is the maximum return code
across all invocations.
</p>
<a name="IDX848"></a>
<p>A special builtin command called &lsquo;<samp>0</samp>&rsquo; outputs the translation, followed
by a null byte.  The output of &lsquo;<samp>msgexec 0</samp>&rsquo; is suitable as input for
&lsquo;<samp>xargs -0</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--newline</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX849"></a>
<p>Add newline at the end of each input line.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<a name="IDX850"></a>
<a name="IDX851"></a>
<a name="IDX852"></a>
<a name="IDX853"></a>
<a name="IDX854"></a>
<a name="IDX855"></a>
<a name="IDX856"></a>
<a name="IDX857"></a>
<p>During each <var>command</var> invocation, the environment variable
<code>MSGEXEC_MSGID</code> is bound to the message's msgid, and the environment
variable <code>MSGEXEC_LOCATION</code> is bound to the location in the PO file
of the message.  If the message has a context, the environment variable
<code>MSGEXEC_MSGCTXT</code> is bound to the message's msgctxt, otherwise it is
unbound.  If the message has a plural form, environment variable
<code>MSGEXEC_MSGID_PLURAL</code> is bound to the message's msgid_plural and
<code>MSGEXEC_PLURAL_FORM</code> is bound to the order number of the plural
actually processed (starting with 0), otherwise both are unbound.
If the message has a previous msgid (added by <code>msgmerge</code>),
environment variable <code>MSGEXEC_PREV_MSGCTXT</code> is bound to the
message's previous msgctxt, <code>MSGEXEC_PREV_MSGID</code> is bound to
the previous msgid, and <code>MSGEXEC_PREV_MSGID_PLURAL</code> is bound to
the previous msgid_plural.
</p>
<a name="IDX858"></a>
<p>Note: It is your responsibility to ensure that the <var>command</var> can cope
with input encoded in the translation catalog's encoding.  If the
<var>command</var> wants input in a particular encoding, you can in a first step
convert the translation catalog to that encoding using the &lsquo;<samp>msgconv</samp>&rsquo;
program, before invoking &lsquo;<samp>msgexec</samp>&rsquo;.  If the <var>command</var> wants input
in the locale's encoding, but you want to avoid the locale's encoding, then
you can first convert the translation catalog to UTF-8 using the
&lsquo;<samp>msgconv</samp>&rsquo; program and then make &lsquo;<samp>msgexec</samp>&rsquo; work in an UTF-8
locale, by using the <code>LC_ALL</code> environment variable.
</p>

<a name="SEC153"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC147">9.10.1 Input file location</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-i <var>inputfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--input=<var>inputfile</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX859"></a>
<a name="IDX860"></a>
<p>Input PO file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-D <var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--directory=<var>directory</var></samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX861"></a>
<a name="IDX862"></a>
<p>Add <var>directory</var> to the list of directories.  Source files are
searched relative to this list of directories.  The resulting &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
file will be written relative to the current directory, though.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>

<p>If no <var>inputfile</var> is given or if it is &lsquo;<samp>-</samp>&rsquo;, standard input is read.
</p>

<a name="SEC154"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC148">9.10.2 Input file syntax</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-P</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--properties-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX863"></a>
<a name="IDX864"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a Java ResourceBundle in Java <code>.properties</code>
syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--stringtable-input</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX865"></a>
<p>Assume the input file is a NeXTstep/GNUstep localized resource file in
<code>.strings</code> syntax, not in PO file syntax.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="SEC155"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC149">9.10.3 Informative output</a> </h3>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-h</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--help</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX866"></a>
<a name="IDX867"></a>
<p>Display this help and exit.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>-V</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<samp>--version</samp>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><a name="IDX868"></a>
<a name="IDX869"></a>
<p>Output version information and exit.
</p>
</dd>
</dl>


<a name="Colorizing"></a>
<a name="SEC156"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC150">9.11 Highlighting parts of PO files</a> </h2>

<p>Translators are usually only interested in seeing the untranslated and
fuzzy messages of a PO file.  Also, when a message is set fuzzy because
the msgid changed, they want to see the differences between the previous
msgid and the current one (especially if the msgid is long and only few
words in it have changed).  Finally, it's always welcome to highlight the
different sections of a message in a PO file (comments, msgid, msgstr, etc.).
</p>
<p>Such highlighting is possible through the options &lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo; and
&lsquo;<samp>--style</samp>&rsquo;.  They are supported by all the programs that produce
a PO file on standard output, such as <code>msgcat</code>, <code>msgmerge</code>,
and <code>msgunfmt</code>.
</p>


<a name="The-_002d_002dcolor-option"></a>
<a name="SEC157"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC151">9.11.1 The <code>--color</code> option</a> </h3>

<p>The &lsquo;<samp>--color=<var>when</var></samp>&rsquo; option specifies under which conditions
colorized output should be generated.  The <var>when</var> part can be one of
the following:
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt> <code>always</code></dt>
<dt> <code>yes</code></dt>
<dd><p>The output will be colorized.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>never</code></dt>
<dt> <code>no</code></dt>
<dd><p>The output will not be colorized.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>auto</code></dt>
<dt> <code>tty</code></dt>
<dd><p>The output will be colorized if the output device is a tty, i.e. when the
output goes directly to a text screen or terminal emulator window.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>html</code></dt>
<dd><p>The output will be colorized and be in HTML format.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>test</code></dt>
<dd><p>This is a special value, understood only by the <code>msgcat</code> program.  It
is explained in the next section (<a href="#SEC158">The environment variable <code>TERM</code></a>).
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>&lsquo;<samp>--color</samp>&rsquo; is equivalent to &lsquo;<samp>--color=yes</samp>&rsquo;.  The default is
&lsquo;<samp>--color=auto</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>Thus, a command like &lsquo;<samp>msgcat vi.po</samp>&rsquo; will produce colorized output
when called by itself in a command window.  Whereas in a pipe, such as
&lsquo;<samp>msgcat vi.po | less -R</samp>&rsquo;, it will not produce colorized output.  To
get colorized output in this situation nevertheless, use the command
&lsquo;<samp>msgcat --color vi.po | less -R</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>
<p>The &lsquo;<samp>--color=html</samp>&rsquo; option will produce output that can be viewed in
a browser.  This can be useful, for example, for Indic languages,
because the renderic of Indic scripts in browsers is usually better than
in terminal emulators.
</p>
<p>Note that the output produced with the <code>--color</code> option is <em>not</em>
a valid PO file in itself.  It contains additional terminal-specific escape
sequences or HTML tags.  A PO file reader will give a syntax error when
confronted with such content.  Except for the &lsquo;<samp>--color=html</samp>&rsquo; case,
you therefore normally don't need to save output produced with the
<code>--color</code> option in a file.
</p>

<a name="The-TERM-variable"></a>
<a name="SEC158"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC152">9.11.2 The environment variable <code>TERM</code></a> </h3>

<p>The environment variable <code>TERM</code> contains a identifier for the text
window's capabilities.  You can get a detailed list of these cababilities
by using the &lsquo;<samp>infocmp</samp>&rsquo; command, using &lsquo;<samp>man 5 terminfo</samp>&rsquo; as a
reference.
</p>
<p>When producing text with embedded color directives, <code>msgcat</code> looks
at the <code>TERM</code> variable.  Text windows today typically support at least
8 colors.  Often, however, the text window supports 16 or more colors,
even though the <code>TERM</code> variable is set to a identifier denoting only
8 supported colors.  It can be worth setting the <code>TERM</code> variable to
a different value in these cases:
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt> <code>xterm</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>xterm</code> is in most cases built with support for 16 colors.  It can also
be built with support for 88 or 256 colors (but not both).  You can try to
set <code>TERM</code> to either <code>xterm-16color</code>, <code>xterm-88color</code>, or
<code>xterm-256color</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>rxvt</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>rxvt</code> is often built with support for 16 colors.  You can try to set
<code>TERM</code> to <code>rxvt-16color</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>konsole</code></dt>
<dd><p><code>konsole</code> too is often built with support for 16 colors.  You can try to
set <code>TERM</code> to <code>konsole-16color</code> or <code>xterm-16color</code>.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>After setting <code>TERM</code>, you can verify it by invoking
&lsquo;<samp>msgcat --color=test</samp>&rsquo; and seeing whether the output looks like a
reasonable color map.
</p>

<a name="The-_002d_002dstyle-option"></a>
<a name="SEC159"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC153">9.11.3 The <code>--style</code> option</a> </h3>

<p>The &lsquo;<samp>--style=<var>style_file</var></samp>&rsquo; option specifies the style file to use
when colorizing.  It has an effect only when the <code>--color</code> option is
effective.
</p>
<a name="IDX870"></a>
<p>If the <code>--style</code> option is not specified, the environment variable
<code>PO_STYLE</code> is considered.  It is meant to point to the user's
preferred style for PO files.
</p>
<p>The default style file is &lsquo;<tt>$prefix/share/gettext/styles/po-default.css</tt>&rsquo;,
where <code>$prefix</code> is the installation location.
</p>
<p>A few style files are predefined:
</p><dl compact="compact">
<dt> &lsquo;<tt>po-vim.css</tt>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>This style imitates the look used by vim 7.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<tt>po-emacs-x.css</tt>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>This style imitates the look used by GNU Emacs 21 and 22 in an X11 window.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> &lsquo;<tt>po-emacs-xterm.css</tt>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<tt>po-emacs-xterm16.css</tt>&rsquo;</dt>
<dt> &lsquo;<tt>po-emacs-xterm256.css</tt>&rsquo;</dt>
<dd><p>This style imitates the look used by GNU Emacs 22 in a terminal of type
&lsquo;<samp>xterm</samp>&rsquo; (8 colors) or &lsquo;<samp>xterm-16color</samp>&rsquo; (16 colors) or
&lsquo;<samp>xterm-256color</samp>&rsquo; (256 colors), respectively.
</p></dd>
</dl>

<p>You can use these styles without specifying a directory.  They are actually
located in &lsquo;<tt>$prefix/share/gettext/styles/</tt>&rsquo;, where <code>$prefix</code> is the
installation location.
</p>
<p>You can also design your own styles.  This is described in the next section.
</p>


<a name="Style-rules"></a>
<a name="SEC160"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC154">9.11.4 Style rules for PO files</a> </h3>

<p>The same style file can be used for styling of a PO file, for terminal
output and for HTML output.  It is written in CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)
syntax.  See <a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/css2/cover.html">https://www.w3.org/TR/css2/cover.html</a> for a formal
definition of CSS.  Many HTML authoring tutorials also contain explanations
of CSS.
</p>
<p>In the case of HTML output, the style file is embedded in the HTML output.
In the case of text output, the style file is interpreted by the
<code>msgcat</code> program.  This means, in particular, that when
<code>@import</code> is used with relative file names, the file names are
</p>
<ul class="toc">
<li>-
relative to the resulting HTML file, in the case of HTML output,

</li><li>-
relative to the style sheet containing the <code>@import</code>, in the case of
text output.  (Actually, <code>@import</code>s are not yet supported in this case,
due to a limitation in <code>libcroco</code>.)
</li></ul>

<p>CSS rules are built up from selectors and declarations.  The declarations
specify graphical properties; the selectors specify when they apply.
</p>
<p>In PO files, the following simple selectors (based on &quot;CSS classes&quot;, see
the CSS2 spec, section 5.8.3) are supported.
</p>
<ul>
<li>
Selectors that apply to entire messages:

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> <code>.header</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the header entry of a PO file.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.translated</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches a translated message.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.untranslated</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches an untranslated message (i.e. a message with empty translation).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.fuzzy</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches a fuzzy message (i.e. a message which has a translation that
needs review by the translator).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.obsolete</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches an obsolete message (i.e. a message that was translated but is
not needed by the current POT file any more).
</p></dd>
</dl>

</li><li>
Selectors that apply to parts of a message in PO syntax.  Recall the general
structure of a message in PO syntax:

<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example"><var>white-space</var>
#  <var>translator-comments</var>
#. <var>extracted-comments</var>
#: <var>reference</var>&hellip;
#, <var>flag</var>&hellip;
#| msgid <var>previous-untranslated-string</var>
msgid <var>untranslated-string</var>
msgstr <var>translated-string</var>
</pre></td></tr></table>

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> <code>.comment</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches all comments (translator comments, extracted comments,
source file reference comments, flag comments, previous message comments,
as well as the entire obsolete messages).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.translator-comment</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the translator comments.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.extracted-comment</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the extracted comments, i.e. the comments placed by the
programmer at the attention of the translator.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.reference-comment</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the source file reference comments (entire lines).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.reference</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the individual source file references inside the source file
reference comment lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.flag-comment</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the flag comment lines (entire lines).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.flag</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the individual flags inside flag comment lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.fuzzy-flag</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the `fuzzy' flag inside flag comment lines.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.previous-comment</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the comments containing the previous untranslated string (entire
lines).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.previous</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the previous untranslated string including the string delimiters,
the associated keywords (<code>msgid</code> etc.) and the spaces between them.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.msgid</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the untranslated string including the string delimiters,
the associated keywords (<code>msgid</code> etc.) and the spaces between them.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.msgstr</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the translated string including the string delimiters,
the associated keywords (<code>msgstr</code> etc.) and the spaces between them.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.keyword</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the keywords (<code>msgid</code>, <code>msgstr</code>, etc.).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.string</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches strings, including the string delimiters (double quotes).
</p></dd>
</dl>

</li><li>
Selectors that apply to parts of strings:

<dl compact="compact">
<dt> <code>.text</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches the entire contents of a string (excluding the string delimiters,
i.e. the double quotes).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.escape-sequence</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches an escape sequence (starting with a backslash).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.format-directive</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches a format string directive (starting with a &lsquo;<samp>%</samp>&rsquo; sign in the
case of most programming languages, with a &lsquo;<samp>{</samp>&rsquo; in the case of
<code>java-format</code> and <code>csharp-format</code>, with a &lsquo;<samp>~</samp>&rsquo; in the case of
<code>lisp-format</code> and <code>scheme-format</code>, or with &lsquo;<samp>$</samp>&rsquo; in the case of
<code>sh-format</code>).
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.invalid-format-directive</code></dt>
<dd><p>This matches an invalid format string directive.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.added</code></dt>
<dd><p>In an untranslated string, this matches a part of the string that was not
present in the previous untranslated string.  (Not yet implemented in this
release.)
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.changed</code></dt>
<dd><p>In an untranslated string or in a previous untranslated string, this matches
a part of the string that is changed or replaced.  (Not yet implemented in
this release.)
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>.removed</code></dt>
<dd><p>In a previous untranslated string, this matches a part of the string that
is not present in the current untranslated string.  (Not yet implemented in
this release.)
</p></dd>
</dl>
</li></ul>

<p>These selectors can be combined to hierarchical selectors.  For example,
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">.msgstr .invalid-format-directive { color: red; }
</pre></td></tr></table>

<p>will highlight the invalid format directives in the translated strings.
</p>
<p>In text mode, pseudo-classes (CSS2 spec, section 5.11) and pseudo-elements
(CSS2 spec, section 5.12) are not supported.
</p>
<p>The declarations in HTML mode are not limited; any graphical attribute
supported by the browsers can be used.
</p>
<p>The declarations in text mode are limited to the following properties.  Other
properties will be silently ignored.
</p>
<dl compact="compact">
<dt> <code>color</code> (CSS2 spec, section 14.1)</dt>
<dt> <code>background-color</code> (CSS2 spec, section 14.2.1)</dt>
<dd><p>These properties is supported.  Colors will be adjusted to match the terminal's
capabilities.  Note that many terminals support only 8 colors.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>font-weight</code> (CSS2 spec, section 15.2.3)</dt>
<dd><p>This property is supported, but most terminals can only render two different
weights: <code>normal</code> and <code>bold</code>.  Values &gt;= 600 are rendered as
<code>bold</code>.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>font-style</code> (CSS2 spec, section 15.2.3)</dt>
<dd><p>This property is supported.  The values <code>italic</code> and <code>oblique</code> are
rendered the same way.
</p>
</dd>
<dt> <code>text-decoration</code> (CSS2 spec, section 16.3.1)</dt>
<dd><p>This property is supported, limited to the values <code>none</code> and
<code>underline</code>.
</p></dd>
</dl>


<a name="Customizing-less"></a>
<a name="SEC161"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC155">9.11.5 Customizing <code>less</code> for viewing PO files</a> </h3>

<p>The &lsquo;<samp>less</samp>&rsquo; program is a popular text file browser for use in a text
screen or terminal emulator.  It also supports text with embedded escape
sequences for colors and text decorations.
</p>
<p>You can use <code>less</code> to view a PO file like this (assuming an UTF-8
environment):
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">msgcat --to-code=UTF-8 --color xyz.po | less -R
</pre></td></tr></table>

<p>You can simplify this to this simple command:
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">less xyz.po
</pre></td></tr></table>

<p>after these three preparations:
</p>
<ol>
<li>
Add the options &lsquo;<samp>-R</samp>&rsquo; and &lsquo;<samp>-f</samp>&rsquo; to the <code>LESS</code> environment
variable.  In sh shells:
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">$ LESS=&quot;$LESS -R -f&quot;
$ export LESS
</pre></td></tr></table>

</li><li>
If your system does not already have the &lsquo;<tt>lessopen.sh</tt>&rsquo; and
&lsquo;<tt>lessclose.sh</tt>&rsquo; scripts, create them and set the <code>LESSOPEN</code> and
<code>LESSCLOSE</code> environment variables, as indicated in the manual page
(&lsquo;<samp>man less</samp>&rsquo;).

</li><li>
Add to &lsquo;<tt>lessopen.sh</tt>&rsquo; a piece of script that recognizes PO files
through their file extension and invokes <code>msgcat</code> on them, producing
a temporary file.  Like this:

<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="smallexample">case &quot;$1&quot; in
  *.po)
    tmpfile=`mktemp &quot;${TMPDIR-/tmp}/less.XXXXXX&quot;`
    msgcat --to-code=UTF-8 --color &quot;$1&quot; &gt; &quot;$tmpfile&quot;
    echo &quot;$tmpfile&quot;
    exit 0
    ;;
esac
</pre></td></tr></table>
</li></ol>


<a name="Other-tools"></a>
<a name="SEC162"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC156">9.12 Other tools for manipulating PO files</a> </h2>

<p>The &ldquo;Pology&rdquo; package is a Free Software package for manipulating PO files.
It features, in particular:
</p>
<ul class="toc">
<li>
Examination and in-place modification of collections of PO files.
</li><li>
Format-aware diffing and patching of PO files.
</li><li>
Handling of version-control branches.
</li><li>
Fine-grained asynchronous review workflow.
</li><li>
Custom translation validation.
</li><li>
Language and project specific support.
</li></ul>

<p>Its home page is at <a href="http://pology.nedohodnik.net/">http://pology.nedohodnik.net/</a>.
</p>

<a name="libgettextpo"></a>
<a name="SEC163"></a>
<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC157">9.13 Writing your own programs that process PO files</a> </h2>

<p>For the tasks for which a combination of &lsquo;<samp>msgattrib</samp>&rsquo;, &lsquo;<samp>msgcat</samp>&rsquo; etc.
is not sufficient, a set of C functions is provided in a library, to make it
possible to process PO files in your own programs.  When you use this library,
you don't need to write routines to parse the PO file; instead, you retrieve
a pointer in memory to each of messages contained in the PO file.  Functions
for writing those memory structures to a file after working with them are
provided too.
</p>
<p>The functions are declared in the header file &lsquo;<samp>&lt;gettext-po.h&gt;</samp>&rsquo;, and are
defined in a library called &lsquo;<samp>libgettextpo</samp>&rsquo;.
</p>

<p>The following example shows code how these functions can be used.  Error
handling code is omitted, as its implementation is delegated to the user
provided functions.
</p>
<table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">struct po_xerror_handler handler =
  {
    .xerror = &hellip;,
    .xerror2 = &hellip;
  };
const char *filename = &hellip;;
/* Read the file into memory.  */
po_file_t file = po_file_read (filename, &amp;handler);

{
  const char * const *domains = po_file_domains (file);
  const char * const *domainp;

  /* Iterate the domains contained in the file.  */
  for (domainp = domains; *domainp; domainp++)
    {
      po_message_t *message;
      const char *domain = *domainp;
      po_message_iterator_t iterator = po_message_iterator (file, domain);

      /* Iterate each message inside the domain.  */
      while ((message = po_next_message (iterator)) != NULL)
        {
          /* Read data from the message &hellip;  */
          const char *msgid = po_message_msgid (message);
          const char *msgstr = po_message_msgstr (message);

          &hellip;

          /* Modify its contents &hellip;  */
          if (perform_some_tests (msgid, msgstr))
            po_message_set_fuzzy (message, 1);

          &hellip;
        }
      /* Always release returned po_message_iterator_t.  */
      po_message_iterator_free (iterator);
    }

  /* Write back the result.  */
  po_file_t result = po_file_write (file, filename, &amp;handler);
}

/* Always release the returned po_file_t.  */
po_file_free (file);
</pre></td></tr></table>


<a name="Error-Handling"></a>
<a name="SEC164"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC158">9.13.1 Error Handling</a> </h3>

<p>Error management is performed through callbacks provided by the user of
the library.  They are provided through a parameter with the following
type:
</p>
<dl>
<dt><u>Data Type:</u> <b>struct</b><i> po_xerror_handler</i>
<a name="IDX871"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Its pointer is defined as <code>po_xerror_handler_t</code>.  Contains
two fields, <code>xerror</code> and <code>xerror2</code>, with the following function
signatures.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>xerror</b><i> (int&nbsp;<var>severity</var>, po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>filename</var>, size_t&nbsp;<var>lineno</var>, size_t&nbsp;<var>column</var>, int&nbsp;<var>multiline_p</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>message_text</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX872"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>This function is called to signal a problem of the given <var>severity</var>.
It <em>must not return</em> if <var>severity</var> is
<code>PO_SEVERITY_FATAL_ERROR</code>.
</p>
<p><var>message_text</var> is the problem description.  When <var>multiline_p</var>
is true, it can contain multiple lines of text, each terminated with a
newline, otherwise a single line.
</p>
<p><var>message</var> and/or <var>filename</var> and <var>lineno</var> indicate where the
problem occurred:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
If <var>filename</var> is <code>NULL</code>, <var>filename</var> and <var>lineno</var> and
<var>column</var> should be ignored.

</li><li>
If <var>lineno</var> is <code>(size_t)(-1)</code>, <var>lineno</var> and <var>column</var>
should be ignored.

</li><li>
If <var>column</var> is <code>(size_t)(-1)</code>, it should be ignored.
</li></ul>
</dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>xerror2</b><i> (int&nbsp;<var>severity</var>, po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message1</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>filename1</var>, size_t&nbsp;<var>lineno1</var>, size_t&nbsp;<var>column1</var>, int&nbsp;<var>multiline_p1</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>message_text1</var>, po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message2</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>filename2</var>, size_t&nbsp;<var>lineno2</var>, size_t&nbsp;<var>column2</var>, int&nbsp;<var>multiline_p2</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>message_text2</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX873"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>This function is called to signal a problem of the given <var>severity</var>
that refers to two messages.  It <em>must not return</em> if
<var>severity</var> is <code>PO_SEVERITY_FATAL_ERROR</code>.
</p>
<p>It is similar to two calls to xerror.  If possible, an ellipsis can be
appended to <var>message_text1</var> and prepended to <var>message_text2</var>.
</p></dd></dl>


<a name="po_005ffile_005ft-API"></a>
<a name="SEC165"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC159">9.13.2 po_file_t API</a> </h3>

<dl>
<dt><u>Data Type:</u> <b>po_file_t</b>
<a name="IDX874"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>This is a pointer type that refers to the contents of a PO file, after it has
been read into memory.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> po_file_t <b>po_file_create</b><i> ()</i>
<a name="IDX875"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_file_create</code> function creates an empty PO file representation in
memory.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> po_file_t <b>po_file_read</b><i> (const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>filename</var>, struct&nbsp;po_xerror_handler&nbsp;*<var>handler</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX876"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_file_read</code> function reads a PO file into memory.  The file name
is given as argument.  The return value is a handle to the PO file's contents,
valid until <code>po_file_free</code> is called on it.  In case of error, the
functions from <var>handler</var> are called to signal it.
</p>
<p>This function is exported as &lsquo;<samp>po_file_read_v3</samp>&rsquo; at ABI level, but is
defined as <code>po_file_read</code> in C code after the inclusion of
&lsquo;<samp>&lt;gettext-po.h&gt;</samp>&rsquo;.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> po_file_t <b>po_file_write</b><i> (po_file_t&nbsp;<var>file</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>filename</var>, struct&nbsp;po_xerror_handler&nbsp;*<var>handler</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX877"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_file_write</code> function writes the contents of the memory
structure <var>file</var> the <var>filename</var> given.  The return value is
<var>file</var> after a successful operation.  In case of error, the
functions from <var>handler</var> are called to signal it.
</p>
<p>This function is exported as &lsquo;<samp>po_file_write_v2</samp>&rsquo; at ABI level, but
is defined as <code>po_file_write</code> in C code after the inclusion of
&lsquo;<samp>&lt;gettext-po.h&gt;</samp>&rsquo;.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_file_free</b><i> (po_file_t&nbsp;<var>file</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX878"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_file_free</code> function frees a PO file's contents from memory,
including all messages that are only implicitly accessible through iterators.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * const * <b>po_file_domains</b><i> (po_file_t&nbsp;<var>file</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX879"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_file_domains</code> function returns the domains for which the given
PO file has messages.  The return value is a <code>NULL</code> terminated array
which is valid as long as the <var>file</var> handle is valid.  For PO files which
contain no &lsquo;<samp>domain</samp>&rsquo; directive, the return value contains only one domain,
namely the default domain <code>&quot;messages&quot;</code>.
</p></dd></dl>


<a name="po_005fmessage_005fiterator_005ft-API"></a>
<a name="SEC166"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC160">9.13.3 po_message_iterator_t API</a> </h3>

<dl>
<dt><u>Data Type:</u> <b>po_message_iterator_t</b>
<a name="IDX880"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>This is a pointer type that refers to an iterator that produces a sequence of
messages.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> po_message_iterator_t <b>po_message_iterator</b><i> (po_file_t&nbsp;<var>file</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>domain</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX881"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_iterator</code> returns an iterator that will produce the
messages of <var>file</var> that belong to the given <var>domain</var>.  If <var>domain</var>
is <code>NULL</code>, the default domain is used instead.  To list the messages,
use the function <code>po_next_message</code> repeatedly.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_iterator_free</b><i> (po_message_iterator_t&nbsp;<var>iterator</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX882"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_iterator_free</code> function frees an iterator previously
allocated through the <code>po_message_iterator</code> function.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> po_message_t <b>po_next_message</b><i> (po_message_iterator_t&nbsp;<var>iterator</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX883"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_next_message</code> function returns the next message from
<var>iterator</var> and advances the iterator.  It returns <code>NULL</code> when the
iterator has reached the end of its message list.
</p></dd></dl>


<a name="po_005fmessage_005ft-API"></a>
<a name="SEC167"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC161">9.13.4 po_message_t API</a> </h3>

<dl>
<dt><u>Data Type:</u> <b>po_message_t</b>
<a name="IDX884"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>This is a pointer type that refers to a message of a PO file, including its
translation.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> po_message_t <b>po_message_create</b><i> (void)</i>
<a name="IDX885"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Returns a freshly constructed message.  To finish initializing the
message, you must set the <code>msgid</code> and <code>msgstr</code>.  It <em>must</em> be
inserted into a file to manage its memory, as there is no
<code>po_message_free</code> available to the user of the library.
</p></dd></dl>

<p>The following functions access details of a <code>po_message_t</code>.  Recall
that the results are valid as long as the <var>file</var> handle is valid.
</p>
<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_msgctxt</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX886"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_msgctxt</code> function returns the <code>msgctxt</code>, the
context of <var>message</var>.  Returns <code>NULL</code> for a message not restricted
to a context.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_msgctxt</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>msgctxt</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX887"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_msgctxt</code> function changes the <code>msgctxt</code>,
the context of the message, to the value provided through
<var>msgctxt</var>.  The value <code>NULL</code> removes the restriction.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_msgid</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX888"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_msgid</code> function returns the <code>msgid</code> (untranslated
English string) of <var>message</var>.  This is guaranteed to be non-<code>NULL</code>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_msgid</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>msgid</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX889"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_msgid</code> function changes the <code>msgid</code>
(untranslated English string) of <var>message</var> to the value provided through
<var>msgid</var>, a non-<code>NULL</code> string.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_msgid_plural</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX890"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_msgid_plural</code> function returns the <code>msgid_plural</code>
(untranslated English plural string) of <var>message</var>, a message with plurals,
or <code>NULL</code> for a message without plural.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_msgid_plural</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>msgid_plural</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX891"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_msgid_plural</code> function changes the
<code>msgid_plural</code> (untranslated English plural string) of a message to
the value provided through <var>msgid_plural</var>, or removes the plurals if
<code>NULL</code> is provided as <var>msgid_plural</var>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_msgstr</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX892"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_msgstr</code> function returns the <code>msgstr</code> (translation)
of <var>message</var>.  For an untranslated message, the return value is an empty
string.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_msgstr</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>msgstr</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX893"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_msgstr</code> function changes the <code>msgstr</code>
(translation) of <var>message</var> to the value provided through <var>msgstr</var>, a
non-<code>NULL</code> string.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_msgstr_plural</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, int&nbsp;<var>index</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX894"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_msgstr_plural</code> function returns the
<code>msgstr[<var>index</var>]</code> of <var>message</var>, a message with plurals, or
<code>NULL</code> when the <var>index</var> is out of range or for a message without
plural.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_msgstr_plural</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, int&nbsp;<var>index</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>msgstr_plural</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX895"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_msgstr_plural</code> function changes the
<code>msgstr[<var>index</var>]</code> of <var>message</var>, a message with plurals, to
the value provided through <var>msgstr_plural</var>. <var>message</var> must be a
message with plurals.
Use <code>NULL</code> as the value of <var>msgstr_plural</var> with
<var>index</var> pointing to the last element to reduce the number of plural
forms.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_comments</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX896"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_comments</code> function returns the comments of <var>message</var>,
a multiline string, ending in a newline, or a non-<code>NULL</code> empty string.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_comments</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>comments</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX897"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_comments</code> function changes the comments of
<var>message</var> to the value <var>comments</var>, a multiline string, ending in a
newline, or a non-<code>NULL</code> empty string.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_extracted_comments</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX898"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_extracted_comments</code> function returns the extracted
comments of <var>message</var>, a multiline string, ending in a newline, or a
non-<code>NULL</code> empty string.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_extracted_comments</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>extracted_comments</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX899"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_extracted_comments</code> function changes the
comments of <var>message</var> to the value <var>extracted_comments</var>, a multiline
string, ending in a newline, or a non-<code>NULL</code> empty string.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_prev_msgctxt</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX900"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_prev_msgctxt</code> function returns the previous
<code>msgctxt</code>, the previous context of <var>message</var>.  Return
<code>NULL</code> for a message that does not have a previous context.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_prev_msgctxt</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>prev_msgctxt</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX901"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_prev_msgctxt</code> function changes the previous
<code>msgctxt</code>, the context of the message, to the value provided
through <var>prev_msgctxt</var>.  The value <code>NULL</code> removes the stored
previous msgctxt.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_prev_msgid</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX902"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_prev_msgid</code> function returns the previous
<code>msgid</code> (untranslated English string) of <var>message</var>, or
<code>NULL</code> if there is no previous <code>msgid</code> stored.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_prev_msgid</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>prev_msgid</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX903"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_prev_msgid</code> function changes the previous
<code>msgid</code> (untranslated English string) of <var>message</var> to the value
provided through <var>prev_msgid</var>, or removes the message when it is
<code>NULL</code>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_message_prev_msgid_plural</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX904"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_prev_msgid_plural</code> function returns the previous
<code>msgid_plural</code> (untranslated English plural string) of
<var>message</var>, a message with plurals, or <code>NULL</code> for a message
without plural without any stored previous <code>msgid_plural</code>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_prev_msgid_plural</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>prev_msgid_plural</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX905"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_prev_msgid_plural</code> function changes the
previous <code>msgid_plural</code> (untranslated English plural string) of a
message to the value provided through <var>prev_msgid_plural</var>, or
removes the stored previous <code>msgid_plural</code> if <code>NULL</code> is
provided as <var>prev_msgid_plural</var>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> int <b>po_message_is_obsolete</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX906"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_is_obsolete</code> function returns true when <var>message</var>
is marked as obsolete.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_obsolete</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, int&nbsp;<var>obsolete</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX907"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_obsolete</code> function changes the obsolete mark of
<var>message</var>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> int <b>po_message_is_fuzzy</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX908"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_is_fuzzy</code> function returns true when <var>message</var>
is marked as fuzzy.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_fuzzy</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, int&nbsp;<var>fuzzy</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX909"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_fuzzy</code> function changes the fuzzy mark of
<var>message</var>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> int <b>po_message_is_format</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>format_type</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX910"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_is_format</code> function returns true when the message
is marked as being a format string of <var>format_type</var>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_format</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>format_type</var>, int&nbsp;<var>value</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX911"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_fuzzy</code> function changes the format mark of
the message for the <var>format_type</var> provided.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> int <b>po_message_is_range</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, int&nbsp;*<var>minp</var>, int&nbsp;*<var>maxp</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX912"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_is_range</code> function returns true when the message
has a numeric range set, and stores the minimum and maximum value in the
locations pointed by <var>minp</var> and <var>maxp</var> respectively.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_set_range</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, int&nbsp;<var>min</var>, int&nbsp;<var>max</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX913"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>The <code>po_message_set_range</code> function changes the numeric range of
the message. <var>min</var> and <var>max</var> must be non-negative, with
<var>min</var> &lt; <var>max</var>.  Use <var>min</var> and <var>max</var> with value <code>-1</code>
to remove the numeric range of <var>message</var>.
</p></dd></dl>


<a name="PO-Header-Entry-API"></a>
<a name="SEC168"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC162">9.13.5 PO Header Entry API</a> </h3>

<p>The following functions provide an interface to extract and manipulate
the header entry (see section <a href="gettext_6.html#SEC51">Filling in the Header Entry</a>) from a file loaded in memory.
The meta information must be written back into the domain message with
the empty string as <code>msgid</code>.
</p>
<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_file_domain_header</b><i> (po_file_t&nbsp;<var>file</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>domain</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX914"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Returns the header entry of a domain from <var>file</var>, a PO file loaded in
memory.  The value <code>NULL</code> provided as <var>domain</var> denotes the
default domain.  Returns <code>NULL</code> if there is no header entry.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> char * <b>po_header_field</b><i> (const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>header</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>field</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX915"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Returns the value of <var>field</var> in the <var>header</var> entry.  The return
value is either a freshly allocated string, to be freed by the caller,
or <code>NULL</code>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> char * <b>po_header_set_field</b><i> (const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>header</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>field</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>value</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX916"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Returns a freshly allocated string which contains the entry from
<var>header</var> with <var>field</var> set to <var>value</var>.  The field is added if
necessary.
</p></dd></dl>


<a name="po_005ffilepos_005ft-API"></a>
<a name="SEC169"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC163">9.13.6 po_filepos_t API</a> </h3>

<dl>
<dt><u>Data Type:</u> <b>po_filepos_t</b>
<a name="IDX917"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>This is a pointer type that refers to a string's position within a
source file.
</p></dd></dl>

<p>The following functions provide an interface to extract and manipulate
these references.
</p>
<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> po_filepos_t <b>po_message_filepos</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, int&nbsp;<var>index</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX918"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Returns the file reference in position <var>index</var> from the message.  If
<var>index</var> is out of range, returns <code>NULL</code>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_remove_filepos</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, int&nbsp;<var>index</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX919"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Removes the file reference in position <var>index</var> from the message.  It
moves all references following <var>index</var> one position backwards.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_add_filepos</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>file</var>, size_t&nbsp;<var>start_line</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX920"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Adds a reference to the string from <var>file</var> starting at
<var>start_line</var>, if it is not already present for the message.  The
value <code>(size_t)(-1)</code> for <var>start_line</var> denotes that the line
number is not available.
</p></dd></dl>


<a name="Format-Type-API"></a>
<a name="SEC170"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC164">9.13.7 Format Type API</a> </h3>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * const * <b>po_format_list</b><i> (void)</i>
<a name="IDX921"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Returns a <code>NULL</code> terminated array of the supported format types.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> const char * <b>po_format_pretty_name</b><i> (const&nbsp;char&nbsp;*<var>format_type</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX922"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Returns the pretty name associated with <var>format_type</var>.  For example,
it returns &ldquo;C#&rdquo; when <var>format_type</var> is &ldquo;csharp_format&rdquo;.
Return <code>NULL</code> if <var>format_type</var> is not a supported format type.
</p></dd></dl>


<a name="Checking-API"></a>
<a name="SEC171"></a>
<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC165">9.13.8 Checking API</a> </h3>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_file_check_all</b><i> (po_file_t&nbsp;<var>file</var>, po_xerror_handler_t&nbsp;<var>handler</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX923"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Tests whether the entire <var>file</var> is valid, like <code>msgfmt</code> does it.  If it
is invalid, passes the reasons to <var>handler</var>.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_check_all</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, po_message_iterator_t&nbsp;<var>iterator</var>, po_xerror_handler_t&nbsp;<var>handler</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX924"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Tests <var>message</var>, to be inserted at <var>iterator</var> in a PO file in memory,
like <code>msgfmt</code> does it.  If it is invalid, passes the reasons to
<var>handler</var>.  <var>iterator</var> is not modified by this call; it only
specifies the file and the domain.
</p></dd></dl>

<dl>
<dt><u>Function:</u> void <b>po_message_check_format</b><i> (po_message_t&nbsp;<var>message</var>, po_xerror_handler_t&nbsp;<var>handler</var>)</i>
<a name="IDX925"></a>
</dt>
<dd><p>Tests whether the message translation from <var>message</var> is a valid
format string if the message is marked as being a format string.  If it
is invalid, passes the reasons to <var>handler</var>.
</p>
<p>This function is exported as &lsquo;<samp>po_message_check_format_v2</samp>&rsquo; at ABI
level, but is defined as <code>po_message_check_format</code> in C code after
the inclusion of &lsquo;<samp>&lt;gettext-po.h&gt;</samp>&rsquo;.
</p></dd></dl>


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